It has been known for many years that dentists recommend the practice of brushing teeth regularly to avoid tooth decay and keep teeth and gums healthy. Often however, a person cannot be home to conveniently brush his or her teeth. Brushing while away from home requires the inconvenience of carrying a toothbrush and toothpaste separately and applying the toothpaste to the toothbrush.
The present invention permits the user to carry both toothbrush and toothpaste together, in a manner that allows easy and convenient use, at any time and at any location. While there have been toothbrushes in the prior art that allowed for storage of toothpaste, these brushes required special handle designs to accommodate storage of toothpaste. Moreover, the special handle designs necessitated by these toothbrushes deprived the user of the comfort of using the toothbrush that he or she has become accustomed to using. It is therefore an objective of this invention to store a toothbrush and toothpaste in one device with the feature that the invention can be used with any style of toothbrush. It is a further objective of this invention to allow the device disclosed to be refilled with toothpaste when it becomes empty and to be washed between fillings and toothpaste.
There have been recent advances in the art of toothbrush covers for use when travelling or otherwise away from home: Lorenzana U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,813 (1989), Picard, U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,039 (1991), Andrews, U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,144 (1991) Wilkinson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,556 (1991). The inventions were merely protective caps for the toothbrush, providing protection for the bristles but not combining the storage of toothpaste. Salman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,428 (1993) teaches a diminutive "toothbrush" that fits over the distal portion of the finger, with the finger providing the required structural rigidity. Again however, toothpaste must be carried separately, further matters of taster were not considered.
The prior art in combining toothbrush and toothpaste in one portable unit has proved cumbersome. Larocque, U.S. Pat. No. 1,062,480 (1913) teaches a tube of toothpaste on an extender arm pivotally mounted to the body of the toothbrush. More recently, Mendenhall U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,871 (1985) placed compartments for packages of toothpaste in the handle of a toothbrush, and O'Neal U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,128 (1985) placed a large diameter handle of a disposable toothbrush. In the last two cases, the toothbrushes utilized of necessity, a handle much larger and thicker than is needed on a standard toothbrush. These inventions are all incompatible with the use of a conventional toothbrush while the user is traveling or otherwise away from home.